Hope of the Stars
by WritingMagic
Summary: The universe attacked by evil Nightmare...all warriors lost or killed...was there any hope for all galaxies, and ultimately, hope for the Masked Knight?


-Hope of the Stars-

The moon shone in the darkness of the night, thinly veiled by the grey transparent wisps of clouds. The sky was as clear as a thirst-quenching spring, showing millions of small diamonds sparkling in the sky. The pearly orb cast its gentle brilliance upon life below, giving a silver sheen to any object that passed below its grasp. But sadly, the landscape on earth wasn't as peaceful as the heavens; it was anything but beautiful.

Below was a corrupted plain full of lifeless forms laid waste from violence towards each other; the very jaws of death seemed to have fed there moments ago. The moon's glow made scarlet look sliver and the armor and weapons of the fallen shine dully, deserted from their warrior masters. Closer inspection of the bloody scene would show that those among the dead were hideous monsters as well as the bodies of brave looking souls that the sword of victory had betrayed. Nothing there seemed to be alive in that rocky desert; the guiding light of the celestial body assumed that hope of life didn't reside there. A disfigured, odd, shadow then appeared on a peak of a lone cliff as a hazy cloud that concealed the moon slowly made its way across the skies.

As the rays of silver finally made its journey across the whole area, it took the mysterious shadow out of the cover of the darkness. A golden, spear-sided, sword with a single, red, jewel incrusted in its hilt was held at the figure's side, gleaming in the moon's luminance. The sword gave a soft glow of its own as well, but the odd occurrence was given no notice by its master. The loner had his back against the battlefield below, his dark blue cape flowing behind him. He stood as still as the ominous presence of annihilation that was looming below his lofty position as his luminous blade glowed faintly. Another cloud then covered the full moon, temporarily dying away its light as well as the sword's. Seemingly noticing the lost presence of his blade's light, the mysterious character swiftly but gracefully turned towards the spectacle below, finally showing his face.

He was surprisingly quite small for his steely, grim, demeanor, and looked quite like a round puffball. His face couldn't at all be recognized under a silver mask which only had a simply big V-shaped slit to see through. His eyes were his only seen facial feature through the slit, but one could only look at them to tell his emotions. They were golden colored and highly expressive as well as sharp enough to give one an unnerving feeling if given a glance. His skin was also a dark, deep, blue and had armored purple shoes on his feet. His cape, as described before, was night-blue as well with gold trimmings and had a large, grey, decorative, neck-guard in the back. His shoulders were covered with shoulder pads with gold trimmings that were the same color as his cape and on his hands were grey gloves. A golden, star-shaped, badge was affixed on his left shoulder, showing a high stature or merit. His appearance wasn't as heroic though; his mask battered and scratched, his cape ripped and torn, and his sword as well as his clothes stained by blood.

He was covered in scratches and wounds as he slowly limped towards the edge of the cliff. He gazed below at the massacre that was shown below him and his eyes turned a sorrowful, deep-blue. As he took in what he saw before him, his hand soon loosened his grasp on the hilt of his sword. "Dead…They're all dead…" was all he could hoarsely whisper as he closed his eyes and slightly turned his face away from the blood-shed. A small breeze crept along the dusty ground and through the folds of his cape, lightly whispering through the crevices and cracks of the cliff. He then opened his eyes at the gentle, rustling, noise and turned his head towards the heavens. The moon stared back at him with its opaqueness into his searching blue-tinged eyes.

Why... "Why did Nightmare have to do this?" he thought remorsefully aloud. How could he stand the death of millions for the lust of power? How could he just stand and watch all his friends bravely fall before him? Howcould he, that monster, do this! The ultimate control of the universe was the goal that drove that living nightmare to insanity and utter malice as he slew millions to do so.

No one knew where he came from and no on knew why he hungered for such power. It seemed he was there at the beginning of time, plotting for the demise of all planets and galaxies. The name of that man, or creature, was Nightmare, the one who replaced pleasant dreams with wickedness. With a cold, twisted, way of showing a civilized manner, Nightmare established a company named Holy Nightmare Co. He had already taken over and laid waste to many a planet with his monsters that he created from his so called 'business' and it seemed no one was powerful enough to stand against him. When it appeared there was no hope left, a mighty band of warriors with an ultimate desire for justice appeared; they were called the Star Warriors.

The Star Warriors were noble people who possessed amazing energy called 'Star Power.' Star Power was an ancient force that was the soul of the whole universe and the balance of Light against the Dark. No one knew what its true form was or when it came to be, but one could know its presence. Not a lot of other details were known about it either, except for the fact that it could choose to inhabit beings, including the ones that made up the Star Warrior band. With their hearts overshadowed by the valiant will of the Star Power, they gathered and situated and army made up of other people who wanted justice, which not all who joined were chosen to be a vessel for the ancient star energy. The army was dubbed as the Galaxy Soldier Army, or the GSA for short, whose sole purpose was to save all from the clutches of the dark. Lead by the one who first established and gathered all the good warriors, Sir Arthur, the GSA fought against Nightmare's attacks on the universe whenever they were alerted of one. But it seemed that the recent battle which the strange figure had witnessed had diminished all the brave fighters and Star Warriors, leaving no hope. No freedom. No light.

"We…we have lost…" the masked figure started to say as he was painfully trying to forget the gruesome images plaguing his mind. He was about to say 'we have lost all hope' but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Something deep within his troubled soul was saying no. But why? He gently took off the star badge he was wearing and held it in his open palm to look at it. It seemed to glow in the moonlight. He then felt a furious emotion that was quickly overwhelming him. Rage. Suddenly clutching the badge severely in his hand, his eyes transformed from a mournful blue to a fierce, crimson, red. In an odd occurrence of a mad fit that was taking over him, he made a swift motion of uplifting his arm to throw the star into the rocky ground below. Before he could carry out his fury-induced action, the little, soft, voice that disagreed with his thoughts earlier seemed to come up out of his very core with impassioned great strength. A clear voice rang out to him. _**"Meta Knight!"**_In a flash, he saw many hues of color take over his vision and felt as if his conscious was as if being attained to another realm of subconscious inside himself. Standing in mid-action, as if frozen in time, Meta Knight, (for that was his honorable name,) stood at the top of the cliff as if paralyzed, but that was unbeknownst to him. Hand held high, but his cape moving listlessly in the wind, he seemed as if in a trance. If one were there to view that moment, they would see as well that his eyes were shining the many colors of the rainbow very quickly, resulting in the shimmering pure color of starlight, and that his sword resumed glowing once more, only more fiercely than ever before. After the great burst of light, Meta Knight witnessed something that many at the time weren't blessed enough to see.

_At first, all he saw were stars. Countless stars that were hanging in the great dark abyss of space. All was quiet and one could feel serene in the beauty of it. Suddenly, the peace was broken as flashes of memories of recent battles ran discordant in the starry scenery. A malicious, chilling, laugh then echoed throughout the hazy mist of remembrance. It was Nightmare. But then, he and the gruesome images faded. Something twinkled in the distance. It was small but its light outshone the stars. Was it a comet? It soon came into view as it whizzed closer into view. It…was a small star-shaped ship…merely a transportation vessel…and...Someone was inside it! A pink puffball child was sleeping peacefully in the cockpit; breathing as a young one would at rest. More flashes of light…a shining planet…a penguin king…two youths…a small town… _

Meta Knight didn't know if he could stand to see these images much longer. They weren't disturbing, but the pure power that was taking hold at him in this state was rather tiring…it felt too powerful for his mortal body to bear much longer. As if reading his mind, the power or entity gave him one, last, definite, image.

_A bluff overlooking a vast ocean stood, covered in fresh, lush, grass and flowers bending in the sweet sea breeze. The water looked orange as the golden sun set slowly over the horizon. The sky a beautiful tangerine-pink color just diminishing into wispy lavender, someone else stood on the bluff looking down on the waters below. The familiar sensation of world peace was upon that place, and it seemed the being was as serene. The figure couldn't be seen so well, for it wrapped its cape around itself so, but still looked oddly familiar…_

Meta Knight started as the vision let go of him and his state of mind, as if he had just awoken from an odd but pleasant dream. The red, angered, tinge had left his eyes at the moment the mysterious power took hold of him and now they were widened in complete awe and wonder. They were a lighter white-yellow as well which showed his amazement. He let his raised arm rest limply at his side, still holding the star. When the vision had ended, he resumed his normal state but that wasn't the only reason. The emotion of surprise and shock had also broken him out of his given revelation also and it was resulted from closer inspection of the figure standing on the seaside bluff. He recognized the stranger. For that serene being that seemed that no horrors and witness of war had touched it was…himself. It was he there standing in a harmonious world with no war. It was he there witnessing the universe being finally at rest from the clutches of the dark. It was _he _there who was finally at peace. And that meant…

Meta Knight knew that what he saw was no dream. It was a vision of the future which he had seen and he was sure that the power which lied deep within himself opened his eyes to see that he _did _have…hope. Suddenly remembering what he was about to do before, he opened his gloved hand to look at his badge once more. A thought dawned on him. Unknown to him before, that badge was a sign of hope for him, and he was about to throw it away when he thought he had lost everything. Feeling a little pain of shame, he turned his gaze at the starry sky. He stood there for a long moment, face turned towards the heavens, until he held up his hand to see his star-shaped badge against the light of the moon and stars. Underneath his mask, a small, warm, smile broke across his face. He still had hope for the safety and peace of the universe, for soon a savior would come. A hero to lift his burdens of the galaxies and put it upon himself for his own responsibility. Meta Knight suddenly vaguely felt that power again that graced him with his futuristic vision. The joy he had in his smile then was shared in his eyes as he was imparted another realization. _"The peace of all worlds…"_ he fondly thought from his vision as he eyed the star, _"We will finally have peace from one with a name who all will remember forever. For his name is…" _He affixed his badge back into its rightful place on his shoulder and then held his golden sword up high. The sword seemed to glow and shine brighter than ever before, brighter than even the stars themselves as well as replacing the light of the moon as it disappeared from the skies. The round, yellow, sun rising high in the distance, casting a bright and dazzling array of red, orange, and golden hue, Meta Knight uttered the words that would give hope to him and the hope of others of all for eternity.

"_**Kirby."**_


End file.
